When installing and setting up heavy-duty industrial machinery (i.e., machinery, equipment, presses, etc.), it is difficult to properly isolate a machine from the substructure (i.e., floor, ground, etc.) of a building or facility or from the ground or soil of the earth. Such isolation may be desired to isolate vibration from a machine that is sensitive to vibration, as in the case of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. In the alternative, such isolation may be required to isolate the vibration created by a machine from a substructure. The shock and vibration generated or realized by these machines may create misalignments of the machine due to the forces and the settling of the substructure or the machine's foundation. Proper alignment, including leveling, flatness, and the like, is essential in order to operate the machinery efficiently, economically and safely.
Prior designs have attempted to isolate a machine foundation from a substructure by providing a concrete well in the substructure. Sand or other fill materials line the walls of the concrete well and create a barrier between the machine's concrete foundation and the substructure. Springs have also been utilized between the substructure and the machine's concrete foundation to isolate and support the machine foundation from the substructure. However, these designs do not provide a method or apparatus for easily and effectively leveling the machine.
Other past designs have utilized machine foundations that are integral with a substructure. Although some of these designs have provided leveling mechanisms between the machine and the foundation, the design of the machine foundation and the substructure must be completely re-engineered when replacing the existing industrial machinery. Re-engineering a machine foundation and a substructure is a costly proposition that is undesirable in the field of industrial machinery.
Larger seismic events, such as earthquakes or large loads applied to the machine foundation, may cause the machine foundation to move or shift with respect to the substructure. When this occurs, leveling and isolating mechanisms between the machine foundation and substructure may be damaged. This may require replacement of the machine foundation which is a costly operation.
Where a plurality of leveling and isolating mechanisms support the machine foundation with respect to the substructure, significant variations in the natural frequencies of the individual mechanisms are detrimental to the efficiency of the system. Prior designs have not provided a method or apparatus for easily and effectively leveling a machine foundation while independently adjusting the natural frequency of the apparatus.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide an apparatus for isolating and leveling a machine foundation with respect to a substructure. It would also be desirable to have an apparatus for isolating and leveling a machine foundation wherein the apparatus and foundation could be reused with respect to a replacement machine. In addition, it would be desirable to provide an apparatus that could limit the movement and distribute the load of a machine foundation that moves with respect to a substructure in response to a seismic event. It would also be desirable to provide an apparatus wherein the natural frequency of the apparatus is adjustable independent of the machine foundation elevation.